Standing Tall In Death (Dead Saguaro Cactus In the Morning Sun) — Image by kenne
Standing tall in death
facing tomorrows and
what they may bring
knowing each will change
how we see yesterday
and how we adjust
to the present — nothing
remains the same.
— kenne
Gilded Flicker Atop a Saguaro Cactus — Image by kenne
This large grayish brown bird is a common woodpecker of the Sonoran Desert.
They nest in holes in giant saguaro cactus.
— kenne
Saguaro in Sabino Canyon — Grunge Art by kenne
Look Again
The image you see
Is not what is.
Look again,
The image you see
Is not what was.
Look again,
The image you see
Is not what will be.
Look again,
The image you see
Is not what is real.
— kenne
The Cloud Above, Death Below — Image by kenne
— kenne
Saguaro On Baby Jesus Trail — Image by kenne
— kenne
All Tangled-Up — Image by kenne
— kenne
Dove Giving Love in Arizona — Image by kenne
Saguaro Love — Image by kenne
— kenne
Rocks & Saguaros — Image by kenne
Stacks of Rocks — Computer Painting by kenne
The saguaro cactus is the largest cactus in the U.S. and is almost completely restricted to southern Arizona and western Sonora. These giants of the Sonoran Desert are very slow growers taking 10 years to attain 1 1/2 inches in height and 30 years to reach a height of 2 feet. However, if planted in a suitable climate and watered regularly, saguaros can reach flowering size in 15 years.
Saguaros may begin to grow arms between 50 and 100 years of age. The growth of arms is random, number and location are not meant to better balance the plant.
Saguaros arrived in the Tucson area approximately 8,000 years ago. Humans have been living here longer than the saguaros.
— kenne
Twin Saguaros — Image by kenne
Green towers
Almost nothing
interrupted the
twin towers
perfection.
My right shoulder
aches,
moving to compose
the desert symbol
of dreams.
— kenne
Cactus Wren Grunge Art by kenne
Once in every lifetime
a little bird may come
alone and forgotten
knocked down by the sun.
Every man may choose
to turn and walk away
or take the bird into his hand
and bid him stay.
— from “I’m Strong But I Like Roses” by Ron McKuen
Saguaro Cactus — Image by kenne
— kenne
Each spring the white-winged doves return from wintering in Mexico and the air is filled with their mating calls. The hoots and coos are so common they sometimes drown out the sounds of other birds.
The return of the white-winged doves plays a very important role in the life cycle of the saguaro cactus. When saguaros flower, white-winged doves move from flower to flower, sipping nectar and pollinating the plant.
Once the flowers become fruit, the doves have a new food source. The sweet fruit is filled with thousands of tiny seeds, which pass unharmed through the digestive system of the dove. If seeds are passed while the dove is perched on a tree or bush, that tree or bush might become a nurse plant to the growing saguaro. Such a plant protects the young saguaro from extreme weather and animals and greatly increases its chances of survival.
For the Tohono O’odham, the saguaro cactus and its fruit (bahidaj) is a very important part of their heritage. The towering saguaro cactus provides both physical and spiritual sustenance for the people. With temperatures now over 100 degrees, the bahidaj is now ripening and being harvested by the Tohono O’odham. (Images by kenne)
— kenne
White-winged Dove Abstract Art by kenne
Springtime In The Sonoran Desert — Image by kenne
“The morning is still and perfectly clear…
How cool and crystalline the air!
In a few hours the great plain
will be almost like a fiery furnace
under the rays of the summer sun,
but now it is chilly. And in a few hours
there will be rings and bands with scarves
of heat set wavering across the waste upon
the opalescent wings of the mirage;
but now the air is so clear that one can see
the breaks in the rocky face of the mountain range,
though it is fully twenty miles away…”
— from The Desert by John Van Dyke
“Desert Silhouette” — Image by kenne
— Lord Byron
![Ebo Pepinensis [Philodromidae] 30x](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.com/65535/55416272699_ed6c9abbf5_s.jpg?w=1000&ssl=1 "Ebo Pepinensis [Philodromidae] 30x")
